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Suspect Charged in Love Bug Case
From: InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 13:30:08 -0500
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37322,00.html Reuters 10:40 a.m. Jun. 29, 2000 PDT MANILA -- The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday recommended prosecution of a computer school dropout suspected of transmitting the "Love Bug" virus, which ravaged computers worldwide. NBI Director Federico Opinion said the bureau had asked the Department of Justice to charge Onel de Guzman, 24, with theft and violation of the Access Device Regulation Act, the closest laws investigators could find that could apply in the case. The Access Device Act covers the illegal use of passwords specifically for credit cards and bank transactions. The Philippines only ratified an anti-hacking law early this month -- weeks after the "Love Bug" virus hit computers around the world, causing $7 billion in damages. "We believe now that we have a good case against him," Opinion told reporters. "It is the position of the NBI that this person be hailed as criminally liable." The NBI recommended de Guzman's prosecution in a formal complaint to the Department of Justice that will decide if there is enough evidence to elevate the charges in court. Opinion said the NBI had not yet spoken to de Guzman, a dropout from a local computer school, but his lawyer had told the bureau they would make their case at a preliminary investigation to be conducted by justice department prosecutors. De Guzman's lawyer previously said his client might have accidentally sent out the virus and had meant no harm. "He will be summoned by the prosecutor to file his counteraffidavit and present his own evidence," Opinion said, adding that the NBI did not have any evidence that others were involved in the spread of the virus. Violation of the Access Device Act carries a penalty of from six to 20 years' imprisonment while theft is punishable by three to six years. The NBI said among its evidence is de Guzman's school thesis dealing with a program similar to the virus, logs from local Internet firms and a diskette with a virus akin to the "Love Bug." The NBI's investigation unearthed four hacked email accounts -- "youngis," "angelcat," "koichi," and "chu" -- all under local service provider Sky Internet, which was used to spread the virus. Two other email addresses from another Internet service firm were used as a destination for passwords stolen by the virus from victims, NBI investigators said. The "Love Bug" destroyed computer files, stole passwords, and replicated itself through the address books of affected computers. Meneses said the NBI would not charge 40 other people identified in a similar virus program allegedly found in de Guzman's Manila flat. "We believe that he is alone in doing this," Meneses said. Early this month, the NBI dropped charges against its first suspect, Reonel Ramones, who lived in the same flat with de Guzman. ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".
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